|
The idea is to heat metal until it can be shaped more easily, traditionally by hand tools. That does not require a fire. In Roman mythology, the blacksmith Hephaestus used a volcano as his forge. Traditionally it required a fire, yes, but that doesn't make it essential. I use silverware which is not made of silverware. As a point of definition, in general use, a forge is not an "open fire". Eg, https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/open+fire defines "open fire" as "A fire not contained by a fireplace or stove" and https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/open-... defines it as "a fire that you light outside, for example to cook on, or a fire in a space in a wall of a building, with a chimney to take the smoke away". As I understand it, blacksmithing is typically not done outside, where it can be too bright to use the color of the metal to judge the temperature, and the fire in the forge requires some sort of forced air (eg, a foot-powered bellows forcing air through a tuyere into a constrained fire). This means the forge is not an open fire. TIL blacksmithing has its own definition for "open fire", which is distinct from "stock fire". See http://www.faadooengineers.com/online-study/post/first-year/... . This means a blacksmith wouldn't say they only use an open fire. |